Hey y'all. Brand new to the forums. First off, yes. I did check out the stickies at the top of the forum. I have been looking around here for about an hour or two. I have a 2006 black mini. I am a college student, and don't really have a lot of money. I would like to detail my car a little though, and make it shine.

From what I read in those stickies, a product called Hydro would be my best bet. I can't really afford a buffer. My question is should I worry about any other products, even from a minimalist perspective? A clay bar or wax? All I've ever done to the car is wash it.

 

You will get the best results with clay, polish and wax.
Clay is an important first step and really very easy. Just watch the videos.
Polish is very hard without a machine but can be done. I assume you are young if you are in college.
Hydro is great for after wash, between wax.
If you have some swirls, my guess is you do if you have a black car, you can try Swirl X from Megs. You can get that over the counter at just about any auto parts place.

 

First off, Welcome Prima products are great, but i prefer Adams Polishes! you will get pretty good results if you use there hand polishes products (a machine is always best)

Since its black, i would get ADAM's:
Swirl & Haze Remover
Revive Polish
Brilliant Glaze
2x Coats of Americana
http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-515-a...r-wax-kit.aspx (pick Americana Version)
http://www.adamspolishes.com/c-17-hand-polishing.aspx
http://youtu.be/Y5JwT1tk8ZU

Watch this video series, alot of great info!
http://www.adamspolishes.com/t-videos.aspx

 

I'm in a similar position to the op - I don't really have the time and money to spend on detailing but I would like to do something for my poor dirty pepper white ...

So in this sequence:
wash
clay bar
polish
wax
Can I skip one of the steps? Like either polish or wax? Does polish make your car shiny and then wax keeps it shiny?
If I were to use Hydro, can I just wash, clay, hydro?

And what is a good brand to buy in stores? Does the Adams stuff come in stores?

 

No, adams products do not come in stores but you can check out a local dealer on this list.http://www.adamspolishes.com/showdealers.aspx Im a detail nut and the stuff you buy in the stores, i dont care what brand it is is absolute garbage. Ive slowly progressed through my years starting with turtlewax, megs,prima,autoglym and finally ADAM's

It is always best to claybar if your are going to polish as a clay bar can and usually will induce micro scratches and marring that can easily be corrected by hand polishes (it will just take slightly more buffing) Clay bar is used to remove surface contaminants only like sap, microscopic dirt/metal objects embedded in your clear coat. If you run your hand over your paint (make sure your hand and car are clean) it will more then likely feel like sandpaper, clay removes this and leaves your finish as smooth as glass.

Wax not only protects but does add depth to your paint (shininess) but the outcome is that much greater if you clay, polish glaze and wax your car...you will stand back in admazement to how much "cleaner" your car will look However, if your car has never been waxed/washed properly you may need some serious paint correction to bring back the shininess of the paint, this is where your Mini will have to be machine polished, as stated in the above videos its near impossible to buff out everything by hand.

Also, once you get your mini cleaned and polished up you will want to properly wash it (meaning do not take it through any type of automated car wash) 2 bucket method with premium soap thats PH balanced will be the safest with quality microfiber drying towels.

 

For the most part, anything is going to be better than where you are currently. On the forums, you're going to find a number of us OCD people who have spent small (or in some cases very large) fortunes on detailing supplies. Although most here (including myself) will argue that the detailing supplies only available by order is superior, that doesn't mean that the products available from the local auto parts store are terrible or can't be used. Someone recently said that they loved the FX Synwax that the got from the local store while another loves TurtleWax ICE products.

As for the basics, a good soap and wash mitt are definitely a must. A drying towel that won't scratchthe paint or impart swirls is also key (i.e. a micro-fiber waffle-weave). The clay bar will be helpful to remove surface contaminants. A polish, a wax, some decent applicators and some decent microfiber towels to put on and remove the products is what you'll need to get on track.

There are others on the forum that can certainly speak more to this, but the basic idea is that polish will make your paint look shiny as its an abrassive that actually removes a thin layer of paint, and in doing so helps to remove scratches (to completely remove them you'll need random orbital buffer). The wax is then applied to protect the paint that you just polished.

If you want to clay the car, you would wash first, then clay, then wash again, polish and finally wax.

Adams would have to be ordered on line unless you live near a specialized vendor. The local chain auto stores don't carry it. There are a lot of great products out there, it all depends on budget and how much time you want to spend on it. Prima, Adams, Autoglym, Chemical Guys, Pinnacle...the list of quality products available goes on and on. Octaneguy (Richard at Show Car Detailing) or Phil at Detailers Domain can give you better info on what's available and what you might want to look for.

Best of luck and post pics of the car when you're done

 

AND YOU HAVENT TRIED 1Z

 

Ok, with a little shopping around this is what I found. I mainly just got prices and products.

Prima Car Products
Prima Swirl - $15
Prima Epic - $23

Adams
(This is the list suggested by 3pedal, thanks!)
Swirl and Haze Remover - $25
Brilliant Glaze - $25
Revive Polish - $20
Clay Bar - $27

Being tight on money, I am looking at getting those 2 products from Prima. I wish I could get more though. Would I be okay with those choices? I also need a good wash mitt and some clay. I bought Waffle-Weave drying towels at a local automotive store last year. They cost me about $8 a piece. I bought 2 of them.
As far as a wash mitt, what should I look for? There's some at amazon that are "sheep skin" like this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Carrand-40305-...4782870&sr=1-5

As far as clay, I found a meguair clay kit at Wal-Mart for about $15
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Meguiar-s-...y-Kit/16386193

I have some shampoo and conditioner wash that I got at the auto-parts store a while ago too. I know about the 2 bucket method for washing. Now, when I get all these products, what's the best to apply the polish and waxes?

I'm excited to get started. Thanks for all the help so far! I'll be sure to post pics.

 

Ok, hopefully you havent ordered anything yet. Dont order anything from amazon and try to stay away from box store producs as much as possible. Seriously add everything up and include your time and gas money into picking them up. Ill guarantee it ads up to be close to this package price.

http://showcarsupplies.com/shopexd.asp?id=125

Our resident detailer (OctaneGuy/Richard) has put together that kit for individuals just like your self where your trying to get started. Its all quality products (prima) and the kit also includes BLACK Wow which will revive your plastic trim around your MINI Plus Richard gives 10% off for NAM members (ADAM's polishes also gives 10% off too)

In your list i dont think you took in account for quality MF towel's to wipe off the products(which comes in that kit i just linked. If you spend a little bit more up front you will save alot more in the long run

besides, thats what credit cards are for

 

If you are looking for a "minimalist procedure", then I suggest skipping most of the wax/polish suggestions.

I suggest:

1. Wash using the 2 bucket method - one for soap and one for rinse.

2. Use a good lambs wool wash mitt with car soap - not dishwashing soap

3. Use Hydro about once ever 3 washes. A little Hydro goes a long way.

4. Use Nero on the interior vinyl, plastic, dash.

5. Use proper washing technique to avoid causing scratches, swirls. Check out this video for proper technique: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...cargarage.com#

6. Buy your stuff from Octaneguy. He has helped many around here.

7. That's it! Don't obsess too much about it, drive your Mini and get it dirty!

 

LittleJoe's got it, although I use Hydro after every wash. I only wash my car twice a month at the most, though. If you wash weekly, you can skip a couple weeks. You'll need to get some waffle-weave microfiber drying towels. Ideally you won't wash your MF with other items so they don't pick up lint or debris.

You should get something to keep your MINI's black plastic trim looking good. Black Wow seems expensive but you use very little of it at a time. On a per-use basis the cost is comparable to anything else you'll find.

Every 6 months I'd go to the effort to clay and apply a coat of Epic (by hand is totally fine, just keep the coat thin). You'll need an applicator pad and some MF buffing towels.

Do those things and you'll be way ahead of most people.

Don't worry about polishing your paint (especially by hand!). The reality is that almost no one in the general public has any idea what polishing means so almost no one does it. Put away a little money so every 2 or 3 years you can get your car polished by an honest professional and you'll be miles and miles ahead of most people.

Also, buy from OctaneGuy (aka Richard aka ShowCarDetailing.com). Give him a call!

 

Thanks everybody for the kind words and referrals. I'm here lurking...seemed to have plenty of info in this thread where I didn't need to reply, but wanted you to know I was still here.

I have a toll free number that goes to my cell phone
866 707 9292 or email me.

I'm a full time paint polisher using the products I sell. I've got all the things the OP is looking for and NAM members have a discount as well.

I'm here waiting, lol.

Richard

 

I'm incredibly OCD, but if you are NOT OCD, I agree with the above recommendations for a good wash (I like Prima's, but as far as washes go, most work just fine), and then Prima Epic and Hydro. You can Epic twice a year, and Hydro every couple of washes. Super easy!